Don't Confuse Me With The Facts

by Wayne Greeson

Teaching the Gospel is not always easy. Probably the most difficult problem the Christian faces in trying to teach the Gospel is teaching a person who has a closed mind.

How often do we meet a person with an attitude that shouts "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up!" In other words, "It does not matter whether or not what you say is true, I am going to believe and do what I want." You could point to many Scriptures; you could provide examples from the New Testament; you could quote the very words of Jesus, yet such a person will remain unmoved. Such an attitude would be almost humorous if it were not so sad. We need to understand the world has always had such people in it and learn not to be discouraged.

For 120 years Noah preached repentance to a wicked world and warned of the impending Flood. For 120 years people slapped their hands over their ears whenever they saw Noah coming down the road. But then came the day when God shut the door of the ark and the rain drops began to fall. The only ones who were saved were those who had spent 120 years with a hammer and saw in their hands, instead of their hands over their ears.

Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" to us today and for good reason. His mission was very similar to Noah's and his audience was just as stubborn. For about 40 years, Jeremiah preached to the rebellious people of God to repent or face the wrath of God. Jeremiah had good reason to cry because his audience not only refused to listen to him but also, instead of putting their hands over their ears, they made fists and put them in Jeremiah's face.

Jeremiah was declared a dangerous fanatic; beaten and put in stocks; his writings were burned by a king; he was called a traitor, beaten again and thrown in a dungeon; he was thrown into a cistern where he sank up to his armpits in mud; and finally he was carried off to Egypt. It is amazing what great lengths people went to not hear Jeremiah.

Somehow, there are those who believe Jesus was exempt from prejudiced audiences. Even the Son of God who spoke with all the power and truth of Deity faced people whose attitude expressed, "Don't confuse me with the facts" There were those who refused to listen to Christ; others mocked Him; one occasion a mob tried to throw Him over a cliff and another time some tried to stone Him. The prejudiced against Christ and His message grew to the point that to silence Him, His critics crucified Him.

After all the "plugged" ears Christians run into, (See, Acts 28:25-27), not only should Christians learn not to become discouraged, but also learn an important lesson on dull ears and closed eyes. Christians should beware of plugging their own ears, shutting their eyes and closing their minds to God's Truth—the Bible.

Christians can "turn away their ears from the truth" (2 Tim. 4:4) and become just as stubborn and prejudiced and even more so than those in the world (See, 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; Titus 1:13-16). If there is anything worse than a person of the world with their fingers in their ears, its a professed Christian with their fingers in their ears.

The proper attitude for the Christian is to "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good," (1 Thes. 5:21), studying to show thyself approved, (2 Tim. 2:15), and "examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things (are) so" (Acts 17:11). It is an attitude that "thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; bears all things believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:5-7). The Christian with the proper attitude towards other and the truth has his fingers turning the pages of his Bible instead of stuck in his ears!